It All Started With
by shizuke
Summary: ...Sena's clothes. A scenario where Deimon Devilbats goes to the movies. hints of ShinSena, TakamiSakuraba, rated T for Hiruma's foul mouth.


Disclaimer: I do not own Eyeshield 21, Nike, Adidas, etc.

Pairings: some ShinSena, slight TakamiSakuraba, hints of many others

A/N: Something I conceived in my boredom which expanded like crazy and possibly one of the longest fics I've ever written. Sorry if there is wrong info inside such as the positions and stuff...I'm tired. Hope you enjoy the fic - unbetaed. Btw, I made Kariya into some sort of cafe/restaurant instead of a cake shop.

* * *

**_It all started with..._**

**Sena's parents:**

"I look weird, mom," complained Sena, wringing his hands desperately.

"No, you don't. You look cute," insisted Mrs. Kobayakawa. "Doesn't he look nice, dear?"

Sena's father glanced at Sena out of the corner of his eye and quickly looked back at his newspapers, grunting in response. Now that could've been discerned as both a yes and no but Sena's mother, being the optimistic and insistent woman that she was, of course took it as a yes.

"My friends will laugh," stated Sena plainly.

"Your friends will envy you," said Sena's mother confidently. "They might even adore you."

Sena didn't even want to ask what that last sentence meant as he put on his shoes and walked out the door.

**Sena's outfit:**

It was a present from his aunt for Christmas. Said aunt worked as a manager of a well-known host club. So Sena shouldn't be very surprised when her gift was an outfit that looked like something a guy would wear if he wanted to attract girls. But Sena hadn't expected that he would be forced to wear it - to an outing with his friends no less.

Sena couldn't stop fidgeting within the first few minutes of putting it on. He was sure that his aunt had picked out everything to be one size too small for him. It didn't help that Sena was so used to wearing everything about one size bigger. His legs couldn't breathe and the crotch area was very uncomfortable. His shirt stuck to him like a second skin and the vest, in Sena's opinion, was too thick.

The outfit was very well coordinated. But it was stupid to wear a vest in the middle of summer!

"Can I at least get rid of the vest?" whined Sena.

"No!" replied his mother.

**Monta:**

Monta was the first to arrive at their meeting place. His jaw dropped when he saw what Sena was wearing. "Sena, what the...?"

"What do you think?" asked Sena nervously.

"Nice," said Monta with a nod.

"Really?" Sena's face brightened slightly.

"If you're working for a host club," added Monta.

Right on the nail, thought Sena.

"Are you trying to pick up girls?" asked Monta.

"NO!"

**Mamori:**

"What's this about picking up girls?" asked Mamori. "Sena, you look good!"

"Thanks," replied Sena miserably.

"Are you trying to impress someone?" asked Mamori, raising her eyebrows teasingly.

"N-NO!"

**Kurita:**

"You guys! I got the movie tickets!" exclaimed Kurita with a smile. "Let's have our lunch at Kariya!"

"Let's wait for the others to get here first," said Mamori. "Kurita-san, doesn't Sena look good today?"

"?"

**Komusubi:**

"Strange!" exclaimed Komusubi in powerful-go when he spotted Sena.

"What Komusubi meant is that you're dressed strange today, Sena. Does today's outing require us to wear strange clothing?" translated Kurita.

Sena cried anime tears. "Why is it that I can understand him even without Kurita-san's explanation?"

Taki Natsuhiko and Suzuna:

"Sena, you look cool!" gushed Suzuna.

"Ohoho, very cool, Sena-kun. Very cool clothes," said Taki, the fire of challenge burning in his eyes. "Just you wait. I will soon have clothes as cool as those!"

"Somehow, the fact that he's the only one, besides the girls, who likes my clothes makes me feel worse," muttered Sena. Monta patted his back in understanding.

"Ehh?! WHY?!" exclaimed Taki.

**Ha Ha Brothers:**

"We're not walking to someone who dresses so gay," said Kuroki straight-forwardly.

"People might think we are gay too," added Toganou.

"Whatever you guys. I'm here for the movie," said Juumonji.

**Musashi:**

"Hiruma isn't here yet?" asked Musashi, digging his ear nonchalantly. "Oh, those're nice, Sena."

Musashi-san likes this type of clothing????

"Those sneakers," continued Musashi. "They're nice. Nike, right?"

"I prefer Adidas myself," said Monta.

"Adidas!" said Komusubi.

"Nike," said Kurita.

"Nike," chorused the Ha Ha brothers.

"A genius such as myself do not need brands," boasted Taki stupidly.

Sena sighed. At least they weren't talking about his stupid outfit anymore.

**Sakuraba:**

"Eh? Deimon?" Sakuraba said in surprise. "You're here to watch a movie, too?"

"Uh, yeah," said Sena timidly.

Sakuraba stared at Sena. "Isn't that the uniform of that famous host club in Shinjuku?"

"Host club?" said the Deimon team, with the exception of Sena, simultaneously.

Takami pushed up his glasses. "How do you know such a thing, Sakuraba?"

The Deimon team turned to stare at Sakuraba. Yes, how _did_ he know?"

**Ootawara:**

"Kurita! Let's have a match!" he yelled.

"We're having lunch at Kariya later," said Kurita amiably.

"Fine, let's have an eating contest!"

**Takami:**

"Well, this is nice? Are we all watching the same movie?" He compared his movie tickets with the ones Kurita had and smirked. "What a coincidence. We're all in the same theater too. And while you're in row A, we're in row B. No wonder the lady at the ticket counter said that the entire row A wasn't available. I suppose you have something to do with it, Hiruma-san?" he asked the arriving figure behind him.

**Hiruma:**

"Nothing but the best seats," said Hiruma with a cackle. He took one look at Sena and started firing at him. "Fucking shrimp, what do you think you're doing, dressing up for a date?"

Mamori deflected all the bullets with a Kevlar-lined board she had bought recently and crossed her arms disapprovingly at Hiruma. Hiruma scowled. "Fine, get the fucking popcorn, fucking shrimp. And don't you dare get picked up!"

Sena ran off to get the popcorn, wondering what the last line meant.

**Shin:**

"Shin, you're late!" said Ootawara loudly.

"I apologize," said Shin curtly. "The subway I took broke down halfway, so I had to run the rest of the way." The sweat that beaded his forehead and sliding down his neck lent validity to his story. "Ah, Deimon is here too?"

"Ah, we better get in line to buy snacks too," said Takami.

"I'll buy the food as apology for being late," said Shin.

"It's alright, Shin," said Sakuraba. "You weren't really that late."

But Shin was already gone.

**Akaba and Kotaro:**

"Fuu, how much longer do we have to wait to get popcorn?" complained Akaba. "We might as well go without the popcorn."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Kotaro. "Popcorn is the essence of watching a movie. It's cool."

"Kotaro-san?"

Kotaro turned and saw Sena lining up three people behind them. Before he knew what was going on, Akaba had relinquished his spot in the queue to join Sena further down the line. Kotaro squawked indignantly and went after Akaba. "What do you think we're doing? Now we have to wait longer to get the popcorn!"

"Kobayakawa Sena, are you here for a movie as well?" asked Akaba, completely ignoring Kotaro.

Sena nodded. "Is the entire Bando Spiders here?"

"No, we only got two tickets," said Kotaro. "Nice shreds there, by the way. Very cool," he said, combing up his hair habitually.

"Yes, very good on you," agreed Akaba.

"T-thanks," said Sena, who really didn't know what to say next.

**Kakei and Mizumachi:**

"Eyeshield?"

On Sena's left, outside the queue, stood Kakei and Mizumachi of the Kyoshin Poseidons, who had previously been staring at what was available at the concession stand. "Kakei-san, Mizumachi-san, you two are watching a movie as well?"

Kakei nodded while Mizumachi went on to exclaim, "What a coincidence! The Bando Spiders are here too! Since Eyeshield is here, could it mean that Deimon Devilbats are here?"

"The queue is very long," stated Kakei.

"Maybe we should just forget the popcorn," suggested Mizumachi.

"No way! Popcorn is important for watching movies!" insisted Kotaro with a flick of his ever-present comb. "It's cool!"

"It is? I didn't know that!" exclaimed Mizumachi like he had just heard the most unbelievable thing in the world. "In that case, we must get popcorn, Kakei."

**Harao and Banba:**

"Can we get 10 tickets please?" asked Banba.

The ticket counter lady shook her head. "We only have five tickets left for this movie today."

Banba sighed and turned around to look at Harao. "Tell your harem to go home. We don't have enough seats for them."

"Only three girls can stay," announced Harao.

His fangirls immediately squealed and whined, professing their undying love for him.

"All of them, Harao," said Banba forcefully.

Harao sighed. "Fine. All of you are dismissed."

"I'm sorry we just sold out our last five tickets," said the ticket lady.

Banba gritted his teeth. "We are never bringing your girls along again."

"Who bought our tickets?" demanded Harao.

"The people in the next counter," said the ticket lady.

**Agon, Unsui, Ikkyu, Yamabushi and Sanzo:**

"Phew, we got the last tickets. Aren't we lucky?" said Ikkyu, waving the tickets about.

"Shut up. I didn't want to come in the first place," complained Agon. "Why are we watching a movie in the first place?"

"Look on the bright side, Agon-san. There are many pretty girls here," tried Ikkyu.

"I knew there was a reason why I liked you more than others, Ikkyu," said Agon with a smirk.

-after five minutes-

Sanzo was crying animatedly. "Unsui-san, why am I the one left behind?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Sanzo-san," said Unsui. "Because Agon found a girl...I can give you my ticket."

"What are you talking about, Unko-chan?" asked Agon, his arm around a pretty girl. "You aren't going to leave me alone, are you? What kind of big brother is that?"

"I-it's fine, Unsui-san," surrendered Sanzo.

"Here's a girl for you, Unko-chan," said Agon, nudging another girl he'd picked up towards Unsui. "She likes the silent type so you should be perfect, right? Yamabushi-senpai, kindly give her your ticket, will you?"

"Agon!" exclaimed Unsui.

"What? You don't like this girl, Unko-chan?" asked Agon with an evil smirk. "That's not very nice, you know." The girl looked uncertainly at Unsui.

"It's alright, Unsui," said Yamabushi. "Sanzo needs the company. You, Ikkyu and Agon enjoy the movie then."

Unsui took Yamabushi's ticket reluctantly and turned to glare at Agon who merely draped his arm around his shoulder. "What? Are you angry at me, big brother?"

Unsui gripped the hem of his shirt and looked away. "No."

"Good."

**Kakei, Mizumachi, Kotaro, Akaba, Sena...and Shin:**

"Don't you think his clothes are cool?" asked Kotaro, pointing at Sena.

"Well, they do flatter him," commented Kakei.

"Yeah, where'd you get them?" asked Mizumachi.

"It was a present," answered Sena shyly.

"Fuu, I thought so," said Akaba. "Your usual clothing do not consist of such flashy wear...do you need help?" Akaba eyed the four large buckets of popcorn Sena was hugging to his body.

Sena shook his head. "I'll manage."

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mizumachi. "Let me help!" He snatched two buckets from Sena. Kakei snatched one from Mizumachi. Akaba took the remaining two buckets from Sena's hands while Kotaro carried the one bucket he bought himself. Sena stared at all of them, stuttering thanks as he walked away from the concession stand.

"How is your practice coming along?" asked Akaba. "I heard that Oujou's Shin has managed to catch up to your speed."

"Well, Shin-san is an amazing athlete," said Sena.

"Thank you," said a voice behind Sena, startling him quite badly. "Though I think I still need to improve in many areas."

"S-Shin-san?" stammered Sena. "What are you doing here?"

"As you can see, I am waiting to get popcorn," said Shin. He noticed Sena's empty hands. "You have not bought any."

"Ah, no. I bought some. But Mizumachi-san, Kakei-san and Akaba-san are helping me carry it."

"I see," said Shin through narrowed eyes. Then he shifted to stare at Sena.

"Y-yes?" asked Sena after four seconds of silent staring on Shin's part.

"You look nice today," commented Shin.

"I thought he looked nice first," said Akaba.

"Hey, wait a minute, that was me," said Kotaro.

"But it was me who thought that the clothes flatter him," said Kakei.

"And I agreed with Kakei!" said Mizumachi.

"Uhhh," went Sena.

**Hiruma:**

"Where is that fucking shrimp?" asked Hiruma, cocking his handgun. "He should be back by now."

"You're bullying Sena again," protested Mamori. "Why don't you go check on him if you're so impatient?"

And Hiruma did. He marched off to the concession stand only to notice that there was a commotion going on there. The Kyoshin Poseidon's Kakei and Mizumachi, and the Bando Spiders' Akaba and Kotaro, and Oujou White Knight's Shin were all quarreling. And between them all stood a shaking Sena who looked as if he wanted to just disappear.

Hiruma felt a vein pulsing in his temple. He fired three rounds into the ceiling. "Fucking shrimp! I told you not to get picked up!"

"Hiiiii! Hiruma-san!" Sena backed away slightly, eyeing the cocked handgun.

"Deimon's quarterback, Hiruma Youichi," said Shin. "What do you want?"

"My fucking popcorn," replied Hiruma. "And my fucking running back."

"_Your_ running back?" asked Akaba.

"The Devilbats is my team. So he is my running back," replied Hiruma obviously. The situation before him held many interesting prospects. Perhaps the fucking shrimp was more useful than just a fast runner after all. "Fucking shrimp, take the popcorn to the team. I need to have a little discussion with our friends here."

"Yes, Hiruma-san," said Sena. "Um, Kakei-san, Mizumachi-san, Akaba-san, can I have my popcorn back?"

**Sena:**

He had no idea what had happened back there but he was almost glad that Hiruma had interrupted with his mighty gun. Why in the world were talented athletes such as Kakei, Mizumachi, Kotaro, Akaba and Shin quarreling over his stupid outfit? Actually, Shin had not joined in the quarreling. He was just observing disinterestedly. But if you think about it, it was Shin who started it unintentionally.

"What took you so long?" asked Monta, taking a bucket from Sena. "Oh yeah, guess who we ran into? Oujou White Knights!"

"Yup, they all just went to the toilet before you came back," said Suzuna.

"No wonder Shin-san is here," thought Sena aloud.

"You met Shin?" asked Kurita.

"Yeah. Not only Shin-san but Akaba-san, Kotaro-san, Kakei-san and Mizumachi-san," said Sena. All of a sudden, he felt the need to step to the left. And as he did so, he felt something whiz past him, narrowly missing his right ear. The whizzing object turned out to be a book on picking up girls, which landed on the floor behind Monta's feet.

"That was dangerous!" exclaimed Monta.

**Agon, Ikkyu and Unsui:**

"My book!" exclaimed Ikkyu as it landed unceremoniously on the floor. He ran and stooped to pick it up.

"Ikkyu-sempai!" greeted Monta. "What are you doing here?"

"Were you the one who threw that book?" asked Mamori. "You could've hurt Sena!"

"Oi, are you looking for trouble?" asked Juumonji.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. It was my fault," jumped in Agon putting on his fake air of innocence. "My hands slipped." He looked at Sena, masking his hate for the other boy. He wanted so much to punch that pipsqueak's face into the ground.

"Agon!" reprimanded Unsui.

"What is it, Unko-chan?" asked Agon disrespectfully.

Unsui glared at Agon meaningfully. Agon smirked. "Fine, fine. I won't do that again."

**Hiruma and...the others:**

"We have an extra ticket," said Hiruma. "One of our teammates (Yukimitsu/fucking baldy) couldn't make it. And it coincidentally happens to be the seat beside the fucking shrimp's." He saw several ears perk up. Hiruma smirked. "And I was wondering...who should I give this ticket to..."

"I will take it," said Kakei.

"Eh? No way, Kakei-san. Then I'd be all alone," whined Mizumachi.

"Kotaro will be fine alone," said Akaba. "I will take the ticket."

"Hey!" exclaimed Kotaro.

"Our Musashi is here as well," added Hiruma. "Beside the empty seat too."

"That ticket is mine!" yelled Kotaro.

Hiruma's eyes darted to Shin. "And you, Shin? You're not interested?"

From the look on his face, Shin was far from not interested. He was already pulling on his battle gloves. "Shall we contend for this ticket?"

**The Deimon Devilbats:**

"Shouldn't we wait for Hiruma-san?" asked Sena.

"He sent me a text message asking us to go ahead to Kariya for lunch," said Musashi, holding up his phone to show everyone Hiruma's message.

"If we were going for lunch first then why did he tell me to get popcorn?...Mamori-nee, are you okay?"

"Cream puffs, vanilla beans, double-layered chocolate cake, mille fueilles, fruit ganache..." chanted Mamori under her breath.

**The Oujou White Knights:**

"Ah, Shinryuuji!" exclaimed Sakuraba upon meeting Unsui, Agon and Ikkyu after their trip to the toilet. "Where is Deimon?"

"They said something about going for lunch," said Unsui.

"Hmm, Kurita mentioned something about Kariya a moment ago," said Takami.

"Argh! The eating contest! We must go to Kariya!" shouted Ootawara, pulling Sakuraba and Takami by the arms as he sprinted for Kariya.

"But Shin!" protested Sakuraba. "What about Shin?"

But Ootawara had already ran too far by the time he remembered Shin.

**Kid, Riku and Tetsuma:**

"What time is the movie?" asked Kid.

"In about two hours. We have time," said Riku, checking their tickets.

"Great. Tetsuma, will you call the waiter to get our orders?"

Tetsuma stood up stiffly to fetch, or rather drag, a waiter to their table.

"What are your specials for today?" Kid asked the frightened waiter.

"Um, our bestseller are the cream puffs but our moist chocolate cakes are popular too, as well as our petit fours," said the waiter.

"Meals, meals, not dessert," said Riku.

"Oh um, fish and chips, the lamb shank, chicken salad..."

"We'll have all of those and a slice of moist chocolate cake," said Kid.

"Hey! Don't decide for me, Kid-san!" said Riku.

But the waiter was already gone to greet new customers. "Irasshaimasse!"

Riku, who just happened to be looking at the waiter, suddenly stood up at pointed at the new customers of the restaurant, "Sena!"

"Riku!" yelled Sena and Mamori in surprise. (In Mamori's case, she yelled, "Rikkun!")

"Seibu Wild Gunmen!" shouted the rest of the team.

Kid lifted his cowboy hat slightly to have a better look. "Well, well, isn't this a surprise? Why don't you join our table, Deimon?"

"What are you doing here, Sena?" asked Riku.

"We're watching a movie later," said Sena with a smile.

"Hey, us too!"

"Really?" Sena compared their tickets with Riku's and exclaimed happily, "We're watching the same movie. We're in the same theatre, huh? You're in row B. That's just below us!"

"Row B?" said Musashi. "Oujou White Knights are in row B too."

"Oujou White Knights are here?" exclaimed Riku.

Sena nodded. "Not only Oujou. Bando Spider's Akaba-san and Kotaro-san, Kyoshin Poseidon's Kakei-san and Mizumachi-san, Shinryuuji Naga's Unsui-san, Agon-san and Ikkyu-san...they're all here too."

"I can't believe so many American football players are here," said Riku.

"All watching movies too," added Sena.

"Wouldn't it be funny if we were all watching the same movie in the same cinema?" wondered Monta.

"Coincidence!" said Komusubi.

"...it's too much of a coincidence if so many people we know are here for the same reason," said Kid, feeling uneasy. "There must be something going on."

Somewhere in the same building, a evil cackle could be heard. Hiruma clapped his hands together and extended his index finger. "So you're the one who's taking the empty seat, huh?"

**Deimon Devilbats, Seibu Wild Gunmen...and so many more...:**

"I wonder when Hiruma is coming," said Kurita.

"He said he was going to speak to Akaba-san, Kotaro-san, Kakei-san, Mizumachi-san and Shin-san," said Sena.

"Why?" asked Suzuna.

"I'm not sure either," admitted Sena. "They were all quarreling about my clothes or something."

"Huh?" said Toganou.

"Huuuh?" went Juumonji.

"Huuuuuuhh?!" ended Kuroki.

Wow, I haven't heard them do it for a long time, thought Sena.

"Speaking of which, you look nice today, Sena," said Riku, helping himself to some chips.

"Really? Kakei-san, Mizumachi-san, Akaba-san, Kotaro-san and Shin-san thought so too," said Sena.

Riku narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "Really?"

"I told you!" said Mamori. "You look cute in that."

"...Mamori-nee, there's still some cream on your cheek," said Sena.

"Irasshaimasse!" greeted the waiter.

Everyone on the Deimon-Seibu table looked, expecting Hiruma. Instead...

"Deimon!" exclaimed Yamabushi.

"Seibu!" exclaimed Sanzo.

"Eating together?" said Harao and Banba simultaneously. "And Shinryuuji!" they said, noticing Yamabushi and Sanzo for the first time.

"Taiyou Sphinx!" exclaimed the Deimon-Seibu table.

"Something is _definitely_ going on," muttered Kid.

And they all decided to join tables and eat together. The staff protested at first, but after being stared down by Banba, Tetsuma, Yamabushi and the Ha Ha brothers, they relented. Yamabushi and Sanzo retold their tale about their forfeited tickets. Harao and Banba told about how Shinryuuji bought the final tickets. Kurita mentioned about Hiruma saying that he had gotten the entire row A for Deimon. And Riku complained about the fish which was only half-cooked.

Finally, when they all seemed to have settled down...

"KURITA! I CHALLENGE YOU TO AN EATING MATCH!" yelled Ootawara.

"Irasshaimasse!"

"Oujou!" exclaimed the Taiyou Sphinx and Shinryuuji.

"Eh? It appears that Taiyou Sphinx and Seibu Wild Gunmen are also present here today," said Takami, wrenching his arm from Ootawara's terrible grip.

Kid pulled his cowboy hat lower over his eyes. "Who do we know is capable of arranging American Football teams to come and watch a movie, possibly in the same theatre, in the same place, not to mention have lunch at the same restaurant as well?"

"Hiruma," said the Deimon Devilbats and Oujou White Knights (well, only Takami and Sakuraba) simultaneously.

"I thought so."

"Huh?" said Ootawara.

"That's our line!" yelled the Ha Ha brothers.

Hiruma and Agon:

"You little piece of shit. I can't believe you're here too," said Agon, showing a warped grin.

"Well, you know what they say about coincidences," said Hiruma, tearing the wrapper off a piece of gum.

"There are no coincidences."

"Exactly."

**Deimon Devilbats, Oujou White Knights, Shinryuuji Nagas, Taiyou Sphinx, Seibu Wild Gunmen...how much more can there be?!!:**

"How many cream puffs have Kurita eaten?" asked Ootawara.

"45," said Takami.

"Then I shall eat 55!" declared Ootwara, tossing cream puffs into his mouth even as he said that.

Sena turned to Suzuna. "How many cream puffs have Mamori-nee eaten?"

"76," said Suzuna, frightened. "How can she eat like that and still keep that body shape?"

"Mamori-san, are you okay?" asked Monta timidly.

But Mamori was like a ninja on a mission - to eat all cream puffs ever made!

"Bando Spiders!" exclaimed Riku all of a sudden.

"Irasshaimasse!"

"Akaba-san, Kotaro-san," greeted Sena. Akaba smiled at Sena while Kotaro charged straight for Musashi.

"Musashi! I challange you to a kicking match!" said Kotaro.

"I'm eating," Musashi stated blandly.

"Then I challenge you to an eating match!" said Kotaro.

He and Ootawara think alike, thought Sakuraba.

"Are you here for lunch too, Akaba-san?" asked Sena politely.

Akaba stared at Sena for a while then sighed. "Fuu."

Sena sweatdropped. What does that mean? But he didn't dare ask Akaba.

"Kyoshin Poseidons," said Banba.

"Irasshaimasse!"

"Kakei-san, Mizumachi-san," Sena found himself greeting, not noticing Akaba's slight flinch. "Are you here to have lunch too?"

Komusubi, upon spotting Mizumachi, climbed onto the table and said, "Match!"

"Sure," agreed Mizumachi. But what match, anybody without the knowledge of powerful-go didn't know.

"Hello, Sena-kun," said Kakei.

"SHIN!" yelled Ootawara.

"Irasshaimasse! Waa, it's getting too crowded! Don't join any more tables and chairs!"

Sena turned. "Shin-san."

Shin nodded in greeting. "Nice clothes."

"Hey, I said that his clothes were nice too!" said Riku.

"But I said it first!" interrupted Kotaro.

"I appreciated it more!" said Akaba.

"I was the one who said that those clothes look good on Sena," protested Kakei.

"And I agreed with Kakei!" said Mizumachi.

"Not again," groaned Sena while the others who weren't involved in the quarrel stared on in wonder at how so many people could simply fight over a matter as candid as Sena's odd clothes.

"YA-HA!"

"T.T...I-irasshaimasse."

Hiruma fired three rounds at Kariya's ceiling. "Shut up, fucking people. This restaurant is reserved specially for American Football players for today," Hiruma told the staff.

"Hiruma-san!" greeted Sena.

"Fucking shrimp, I told you not to get picked up," said Hiruma, though he didn't look angry now. In fact, he looked decidedly happy in an evil, conniving sort of way.

"Don't bully Sena," said Mamori between chews of her cream puffs.

"Swallow before speaking, fucking manager," said Hiruma. "Waiter! Take my order!"

"So this is where all the talentless bugs are."

"I-irasshai..."

"Agon-san," said Sanzo weakly. "Unsui-san, Ikkyu-san...where are the girls?"

"They've gone into the theatre first," explained Unsui.

"Well, whaddya know?" said Hiruma. "The four best receivers in Kantou in the same fucking restaurant. Isn't this interesting?"

"Not only receivers, quarterbacks and running backs too," said Suzuna. "Linemen, linebackers, defensive end...Kantou's best players are all here..."

"Are you talking about me, mai sishuta?" asked Taki, pulling his jacket in his habitual ridiculous pose.

"There are no coincidences," said Agon, echoing the sentence from his conversation with Hiruma a moment ago.

Hiruma cackled. "Exactly."

**American Football Weekly, Kumaboro and Piriko:**

"Why are we going to Kariya, father?" asked Piriko, fiddling with the camera around her neck.

"I made a deal with someone," said Kumaboro. "He said that he'd be able to get all of Kantou's Amefuto aces at one place. And that place is camera. Get ready to take a lot of photos, Piriko."

"Yes, father!"

The both of them finally arrived at Kariya and saw the sign that was put up at the entrance saying: "Reserved for American Football players only, YA-HA!"

Kumaboro looked inside and his jaw dropped. "I don't believe it."

Inside Kariya, sitting by messily conjoined tables were Kantou's Amefuto aces, eating and talking together.

**Linemen:**

"How many cakes has Kurita eaten?" asked Ootawara.

"9," said Takami.

"I shall not be defeated!" He immediately scooped two slices of cake into his mouth.

"I am the champion of ice-cream eating in my school," said Banba.

"Huh?" said Toganou.

"Huuuh?" went Juumonji.

"Huuuuuuuuhhh?!" went Kuroki.

"Waiter! Bring us all the ice-cream you have in this place!" yelled Juumonji.

"You! Join us in our battle!" said Kuroki, forcing Kakei to sit beside him.

"But i really don't like ice-cream," said Kakei dispassionately. His protest went unheard.

Meanwhile, Mizumachi and Komusubi were having an arm-wrestling match at the end of the table while Yamabushi and Suzuna cheered them on.

**Quarterbacks:**

"You planned all this, didn't you?" asked Takami, pushing up his glasses.

"Is it that obvious?" cackled Hiruma.

"All of us meeting here and doing the same thing - it's too coincidental to be a coincidence," said Kid.

"I'd like to know how you got us all in the same place," said Harao, crossing his arms.

"Though, having Shinryuuji here was just a fluke," admitted Hiruma, glancing at Unsui. "I didn't think that you'd actually succeed in persuading your fucking brother to come, Unsui."

"I have my methods," said Unsui. His words contributed to the curious expressions on Hiruma and Takami.

"Care to divulge?" asked Hiruma with an evil grin.

And to the surprise of everyone else, Unsui gave a small smirk.

**Receivers:**

"I can't get him to speak at all!" exclaimed Monta frustratedly, pointing at Tetsuma. "He only speaks when Kid-san tells him to!"

Tetsuma sat in his seat rigidly, giving no sign that he heard what was being said about him.

"Let's stick something up his nose," suggested Ikkyu, "and see what his reaction is."

"No, that's not nice!" protested Sakuraba. "Oops!" He'd accidentally toppled the glass near him off the table and stooped to catch it but Monta caught it first.

"Whoa, be careful. You don't want to be paying for a broken glass," said Monta, tossing the glass towards Sakuraba. But Monta, with his terrible throwing ability, made the glass ricochet against the table, skid across the top of the chair and landed in a crash on the ground. A second later, he was jumping around avoiding Hiruma's bullets.

"Fucking monkey! Now we have to pay for the glass!"

**Linebackers:**

"...I would like to go and speak with Eyeshield," said Shin.

"So would I," said Akaba.

"But I'd like to speak to him first," replied Shin.

"There's nothing wrong with me speaking to him, is there?" retorted Akaba.

"I shall defeat you," said Shin, pulling on his gloves.

Akaba pocketed his sunglasses. "Fuu, as would I."

**Kickers:**

"Ha! I finished my pudding faster than you, Musashi!" boasted Kotaro.

"I'm not competing with you," said Musashi monotonously.

"Eh?! But you agreed to an eating contest a moment ago!"

"I didn't."

"That's not fair, Musashi," said Kotaro.

"Waiter, ice-cream please," said Musashi, ignoring the comb-flicking boy in front of him.

"I'm sorry, but your friends at the end of the table already ordered all of our ice-cream," said the waiter apologetically.

"Even with three people, you cannot defeat me in eating ice-cream," announced Banba.

"Huh?" said Toganou.

"Huuuuh?" went Juumonji.

"Huuuuuuuhhh?!" ended Kuroki.

"Banba?" said Harao, not recognizing his friend amidst all the ice-cream.

"I really don't like ice-cream," said Kakei, eyeing the bowl of chocolate ice-cream Togano had pushed in front of him.

**Running backs:**

"Crazy table, huh?" said Riku. "I can't believe Mamori-nee isn't noticing the havoc around her."

"Nah, she's too busy eating cream puffs," said Sena with a chuckle. "You can always distract her with a cream puff."

"So where'd you get those clothes from?" asked Riku curiously.

"It was a Christmas gift," said Sena miserably. "Though, I didn't think I'd actually have to wear it."

"Why not? It looks good on you," said Riku.

"It's too _tight_!" complained Sena. "I can't _move_ my legs _freely_. The shirt is _sticking_ to my chest. And the vest is making me _sweat_!"

Riku swallowed.

"You alright, Riku?" asked Sena, noticing his friend's discomfort.

"Y-yea, I'm okay." replied Riku.

"If your clothes cause you such discomfort, why don't you just take them off?" asked Shin.

"Eh? Shin-san, I thought you were sitting in the next table," said Sena.

"Akaba Hayato and I do not agree with each other," said Shin.

Akaba glared at him, strumming his guitar furiously. "Fuu..."

Riku narrowed his eyes with displeasure at the sudden addition of Shin and Akaba to their table.

**The ones left out:**

"This cannot be!! Impossible!!" exclaimed Taki. "Kyoshin's Kakei and I are both tight ends! Shouldn't we be speaking to each other?' he asked, striking his usual pose with one foot up in the air. "Kakei-san! Let us talk and bond as tight ends!"

"Go away, idiot," said Kuroki through mouthfuls of ice-cream. "Kakei is helping us with this competition."

"But I really don't like ice-cream," said Kakei, choking with ice-cream in his mouth.

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Juumonji, clapping Kakei's back with immense force until Kakei managed to swallow his ice-cream.

"Less talk, more ice-cream!" said Toganou.

"You cannot defeat me," said Banba.

"Hiiiii, I got no one to talk to either," cowered Sanzo. On his left sat Mizumachi and Komusubi, still in their arm-wrestling competition. On his right was Kurita and his 12th piece of pastry, Ootawara following closed behind and Mamori in the lead.

"This is ridiculous!" muttered Agon distastefully. He slammed his fist on the table, making the dishes jump half a foot in the air. "Unko-chan, we're leaving. Ikkyu!"

"So, who exactly wears the pants of your relationship?" Hiruma asked Unsui with a curious raised eyebrow. "I mean, he is a fucking genius, after all."

Takami spit out the orange juice in his mouth in shock. Harao looked from Hiruma to Unsui with his jaw hanging. Kid raised both eyebrows.

Unsui stood up from his seat. "Never underestimate the power of hard work. Coming, Agon."

"Well, come faster!" ordered Agon angrily.

Takami threw up his drink again.

And suddenly, all of them were bombarded with a series of blinding flashes.

**Everyone .:**

"Did you get the pictures?" asked Kumaboro.

"Yes, all of them," answered Piriko.

"Then, let's get out of here."

They hightailed out of Kariya and into their car. A few minutes later, Hiruma received a text message on his cell phone: 'I'll keep my end of the deal, as promised.' Hiruma grinned.

Suddenly Riku yelled, "Only five minutes till the movie starts. Let's go, Kid-san, Tetsuma-senpai!"

"Oh shit, we have to go," said Toganou.

"Not until we beat this guy!" said Juumonji and Kuroki nodded in agreement.

In reply, they received five bullets embedded deeply into their ice-cream bowls. "Wrap it up, fucking linemen. We're leaving!" said Hiruma. "Somebody tear our fucking manager away from those fucking cream puffs."

"Sakuraba! Ootawara! Shin! We have to leave too!" exclaimed Takami.

"Another time then, Kurita!" shouted Ootawara abandoning his plate of pies.

"Takami-san, wait up!" yelled Sakuraba.

"Fucking four-eyes," said Hiruma, grabbing Takami's attention. His grin grew wider. "You know that I know, right?"

Takami frowned then wrapped an arm around Sakuraba, steering the receiver away from Hiruma. "Let's go, Sakuraba."

"Takami-san?" said Sakuraba, question marks dotting the space above his head.

Agon, Unsui and Ikkyu had already left, without paying their bill no less. "You're their teammates, so you foot their bill," Hiruma told Yamabushi and a crying Sanzo.

"Mizumachi, let's leave. Quickly," added Kakei before any of the Ha Ha brothers pull him back for more ice-cream.

"One bowl," said Kuroki through gritted teeth.

"One more bowl and we would've defeated him," said Toganou, glaring at Banba who gave the 'brothers' a triumphant smirk.

"Why you!" threatened Juumonji.

Hiruma fired his gun at them again. "I told you fucking brothers to wrap it up!"

"Akaba, let's go," said Kotaro. "Aah, where did I leave my popcorn! Ah, here it is!"

"Wait, that's our popcorn," interjected Monta.

"No, that's mine. I bought it!" fought back Kotaro.

"This was the one Sena gave me! I remembered that I put it here!" quarreled Monta.

They stopped once they saw Hiruma tossing a grenade up and down in his hand.

"I got our popcorn, Kotaro," said Akaba. "Let's go."

"I'll see you later, Sena," said Riku as he left with Kid and Tetsuma. Team by team, they all left. Until only the mess they left remained.

The Kariya store manager came back from lunch just then and double flipped. "What happened here?" he demanded eyeing the mess. "Was there a war here? Where's the head waiter? I demand an explanation!"

The waiter approached the manager and gave him a piece of paper. "Their ringleader (the scary guy with the guns) told me to give you this."

The manager read the piece of paper and cringed. That demon!

**On the way to the theatre:**

"By the way, what did you talk to Akaba-san, Kotaro-san, Kakei-san, Mizumachi-san and Shin-san about, Hiruma-san?" asked Sena while running towards the theatre.

Hiruma cackled. "Nothing much. I just sold the fucking baldy's seat."

"EH? Isn't that the seat between me and Musashi-san?" asked Sena. "Who did you sell it to?"

Hiruma grinned.

**In the theatre:**

The theatre was dark. But Sena could still make out Riku's pale hair in the row before them. He poked Riku's shoulder and waved at him when Riku turned behind. Riku smiled and waved too. That's right. Oujou White Knights and Seibu Wild Gunmen were in the row B (second row) while they were at row (first row). Sena wondered where the other American Football players were.

"Eyeshield."

Sena turned at saw Kakei and Mizumachi waving at him from row C. Then he saw Akaba and Kotaro sliding into row C as well. Unsui, Agon, Ikkyu and two other girls were at row F. Sena clutched the bucket of popcorn on his lap. He already had so much to eat at Kariya. How was he going to stomach this much popcorn?

On his right, Monta slapped his arm excitedly. "Sena, Sena, the movie's starting."

Sena smiled then glanced to his right at the empty seat between him and Musashi. He looked at Hiruma who sat between Mamori and Musashi. He had not told Sena what he had done with Yukimitsu's ticket. Sena sighed. As the movie started, introducing its director, company sponsors and main actors, Sena saw someone sit in the empty seat on his left.

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Sena had to squint to see who it was in the dark. When he still couldn't make out the person's face, he leaned closer until he felt that person close a hand on his shoulder. "What is it Eyeshield?" the person asked in a hushed voice.

Sena knew that voice! It was...

"Shin-san?" he asked softly. The person nodded. Sena started to stutter. "B-but...your seat." He noticed at empty seat in row B next to Ootawara. "Why did you take this seat?"

"So I can sit next to you," said Shin seriously. Just then, the screen threw light onto Shin's face and Sena had to turn away at how handsome his rival was. Luckily, the light couldn't pick out his blush. "You look nice today," said Shin again. "I want you to know that."

"T-thanks," stammered Sena.

Then Shin held Sena's hand curled within his and kept it there. Sena blushed beet red. "S-Shin-san?"

But Shin didn't reply. Shin was just staring ahead at the movie screen, pretending to pay attention to what was going on. But maybe, thought Sena, Shin might be blushing too.

**American Football Weekly report:**

'Recently, some of the best players from Kantou teams, namely the Shinryuuji Nagas, Oujou White Knights, Seibu Wild Gunmen, Deimon Devilbats, Taiyou Sphinx, Kyoshin Poseidons and Bando Spiders were seen hanging out and partying at a Kariya branch in XXX Shopping Mall. Our reporters at American Football Weekly had managed to get several photos for your viewing pleasure.'

Photo 1 caption: Here's a photo of Kyoshin Poseidon's Mizumachi Kengo and Deimon Devilbat's Komusubi Daikichi having an arm-wrestling match? I wonder who will win in a battle of the line?

Photo 2 caption: Taiyou Sphinx's Banba, Kyoshin Poseidon's Kakei Shun and Deimon Devilbat's linemen, Kuroki, Toganou and Juumonji are having an ice-cream eating competition. From the looks of it, Banba is winning. And Kakei isn't even trying.

Photo 3 caption: Deimon Devilbat receiver, Raimon Tarou, breaking a glass.

Photo 4 caption: The battle of eating power! Oujou White Knight's Ootawara Makoto is going head to head with Deimon Devilbat's Kurita Ryoukan? Can you see the amount of plates piled up beside them?

Photo 5 caption: The meeting of the quarterbacks! Seibu Wild Gunmen's Kid, Taiyou Sphinx's Harao, Shinryuuji Naga's Kongo Unsui, Oujou White Knight's Takami Ichirou and Deimon Devilbat's Hiruma Youichi having a conversation together. What enigmatic figures of the American Football high school world.

Photo 6 caption: The best running backs in Kantou - friends! Here we have Seibu Wild Gunmen's Kaitani Riku and Deimon Devilbat's Speed of Light runner, Eyeshield 21/Kobayakawa Sena, chatting like old friends.

The list when on till Photo 20 caption.

**The morning after:**

"Hey Kakei, do you want to go to the theme park today?" asked Mizumachi through the phone.

"No," replied Kakei. "My ribs're hurting. Another time."

"Yours too? That Shin is something, huh?"

Kakei scowled. "His tackles become more and more powerful every time."

-somewhere else-

Akaba winced even as he plucked the chords of his guitar. He would find the counter to Shin's tackle. He swore to himself that he would. He rubbed his stomach tenderly, wincing as he thought about yesterday.

Kotaro wasn't having a very good day either. While the movie was good, competing for the empty seat in row A hadn't been very pleasant. Especially that Trident Tackle...Kotaro groaned as he placed another healing pad on his stomach. Damn that Oujou linebacker!

-somewhere else-

His arm felt a bit strained. Perhaps he was too hard on his opponents yesterday. But he didn't regret it. He got to sit next to Eyeshield and hold his hand throughout the entire movie. Sure, he noticed that Seibu Wild Gunmen's Riku was glaring at him after the movie. But what did that matter? Shin allowed himself a small smile of triumph. Next time, he would try harder. Next time, Eyeshield would be completely his!

**The payment:**

Hiruma cackled as he copied down all the information written on the computer screen before deleting the email. All the dirt he needed on the big names in the American Football world, as Kumaboro had promised. Kumaboro didn't have to know what Hiruma was going to do with his new information. But gathering everyone at Kariya was a small price to pay for getting so many dirty secrets. (Not only that, but he managed to get updated information on Shin's tackles, thanks to the fucking shrimp.)

But when Mamori asked how he had managed to afford yesterday's big lunch at Kariya, he replied, "I couldn't afford it." But he knew that the Kariya store manager had cheated XY bank more than once and he had proof. No one could go against Hiruma Youichi.

"But how did you manage to get everyone to watch the same movie and eat at the same place?" asked Suzuna.

Hiruma held up his black extortion notebook and laughed evilly.

"This guy's information network is scary," said Monta.

**The aftermath:**

"Don't go near Hiruma Youichi," said Takami during practice.

"The Deimon quarterback?" asked Sakuraba. "Why?"

"Just don't. Shin, where are you going?"

"Home. Practice is over, right?" said Shin, heading towards the locker room.

"But don't you always stay back for an extra hour of training?" asked Sakuraba.

Shin didn't reply.

---somewhere else---

"Shin-san, I got your message," said Sena, panting slightly from running all the way from home. "You wanted to meet me?"

"Let's run," said Shin simply. Sena nodded and they started jogging round the neighbourhood together with nothing besides the one or two passing cars to disturb their peace.

When the sun began to sink beneath the horizon, Sena bade Shin farewell. But Shin said that he would walk Sena home. He would not listen to any objections on Sena's part. He walked Sena back up to his doorstep and waited as Sena pressed the doorbell.

It was Sena's mom who opened the door. "Sena! You're soaked! Oh, who is this, Sena? Your friend?" she asked when she noticed Shin who stood about a head higher than her.

"Yeah, sort of..." mumbled Sena shyly.

"Kobayakawa Sena's mother, I humbly ask your permission to court Kobayakawa Sena," said Shin all of a sudden, bowing his head.

It took a few seconds for Sena and his mother to register what Shin had just said. When they did, they both had different reactions.

"Eh?!" exclaimed Sena. What is Shin doing? Sena thought frantically. Why is he asking mother for permission first?

"Oh, how sweet!" gushed Sena's mom. "You have my permission, um..."

"Shin Seijuro, ma'am!" said Shin. "Position, linebacker. Student of Oujou High School. My interests are training..."

But Sena's mom stopped him. Sena thought it was a pity because he seriously wanted to know what Shin's interests were. "You just go ahead and be nice to my son, okay, Shin?"

"Of course, ma'am!" said Shin, almost saluting her. His expression did nothing to betray the elation he felt swelling beneath his chest. First obstacle down!

"Mou, it's late! Bye, Shin!" exclaimed Sena not wanting to prolong Shin's meeting with his slightly eccentric mother. Shin bowed his head slightly in respect.

"Then I shall come walk you to school tomorrow," said Shin before taking off.

"No, you don't have to, we go to different schools!" yelled Sena, but Shin was already too far off to listen. He sighed. One small moment of peace before his mother swooped down on him all smiles.

"At first I thought it'd be nice if you dated Mamori-chan or Suzuna-chan, but now you bring home to me such a handsome boy! You are a wonderful son, Sena!" squealed his mom, hugging Sena and swinging him around.

Sena wondered what was so wonderful about the situation before giving up to the fact that his mother had a warped logic. But he felt happy nonetheless. Shin Seijuro, _the_ Shin Seijuro, was actually asking to date him. Perhaps even he had good luck sometimes too.

* * *


End file.
